To build a general
space Internet architecture that combines differently -challenging parts,
our view of the InterPlaNetary Internetis
depicted in Figure 1. It includes InterPlaNetary Backbone Network,
InterPlaNetary External Networks, and PlaNetary
Networks.

Figure 1. The InterPlaNetary Internet architecture.

InterPlaNetary Backbone Network:
It provides a common infrastructure for communications among the Earth,
outer-space planets, moons, satellite, and relay stations placed at gravitationally
stable Lagrangian points of planets, etc. It includes the data links
(direct link or multi-hop paths) between elements with long-haul capabilities,
as shown in Figure 2.

Figure 2. The InterPlaNetary
Backbone Network architecture.

InterPlaNetary External Network: It
consists of spacecrafts flying in groups in deep space between planets, clusters
of sensor nodes, and groups of space stations, etc. Some nodes in the InterPlaNetary
External Network also have long-haul communication capabilities.

PlaNetary Network:The
PlaNetary Network is composed of PlaNetary Satellite Network
and PlaNetary Surface Network. This architecture can be implemented
at any outer-space planet, providing interconnection and cooperation among
the satellites and surface elements on a plane, as shown in Figure 3.

Figure 3. The PlaNetary Network
architecture.

- PlaNetary Satellite Network:
It is composed of satellites which lie in multiple layers and provides
the following services: Intermediary caching and relay service between
the Earth and the planet, relay service between the in-situ mission elements,
and location management of PlaNetary Surface Networks.

- PlaNetary Surface Network:
It provides the communication links between high power surface elements, such
as rovers and landers, which have the capability to connect with satellites.
They also provide a power-stable wireless backbone in the planet. Moreover,
PlaNetary Surface Network includes surface elements that cannot communicate
with satellites directly. These elements are often organized in clusters and
spread out in an ad hoc manner, e.g., sensor nodes and balloons as illustrated
in Figure 3.